PSC lawyer: Electric co-ops have less money than thought

JACKSON — That $160 million pile of cash that Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley said Mississippi electric cooperatives should be giving back to their customers? Almost everyone agrees now that the state’s 25 cooperatives don’t have nearly that much money lying around.

Shawn Shurden, a lawyer for the Public Service Commission, told commissioners earlier this month that a review shows cooperatives mostly hold physical assets.

Presley, though, says he still wants the 25 co-ops to account to each member of what their share of ownership is worth. The Public Utilities Staff is developing a survey to determine if cooperatives are sending out such notices.

While customers of 11 cooperatives in southern and western Mississippi sometimes get refunds on capital, Tennessee Valley Authority-affiliated cooperatives say they’re not allowed to give such money back.

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